Plant-blocker.



G. 'P. A. WEISENBORN.

PLANT BLOGKER.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 5,1911.

Patented May-'7, 1912.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2 Ml lliiill' "Hm! H GEORGE P. A. WEISENBORN, OF HOUSTON,TEXAS.

PLANT-BLOCKER.

Specification of Letters Patent.- Application filed May 8, 1911. SerialNo. 625,575.-

Patented May 7, 1912.

To all whom it may 0mm.- p

, Be it known that I, GEORGE P. A. Wmsrn- BORN, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residin at Houston, in the county of Harris and 'State of Texas,have invented certain new "and'fuseful Improvements in Plant-Blockers,

of which the followingisa specification.

,My invention relates to newand useful improvements in lant blockerssuch as are designed to 'bloc rows. I f

H plants which grow in The object of the invention'is to provide adevice of the character described having an oscillating hoe, or cutter,secured to an operatlve mechanism therefor,said mechanism being'operatively connected with the carrier wheels'of the machine in such amanner as to be operated thereby, and the inventionfurther'-,comprehendsa means for discon meeting thehoe-operat'i've-mechanism from its motive means.

Another objectof the invention resides in .the provision of a meanswhereby the hoe ma be readi-l'y elevated'Aand lowered and 100 ed inposition atany desired point. of elevation.

Afurther feature of the provision of means for securing the hoe to itsoperative mechanism, whereby theangle of the cutting edge of said hoewith the surface to be cut away may be varied.

A still further feature resides. in the pro- I vision of a mechanismwhereby the: hoe may the frame work removed so as to show morebe-readily shifted rearwardly or forwardly on its support With the aboveand other objects in view 'm'yinvention has particular. relation to cer--ta1n novel features of construct on, operation and arrangement of partsanexample of which is given in this specification and illustrated in theaccompanying drawings,

wherein .Figure 1 is a plan view of my device. 'Fig. 2 is a sideelevation thereof, showing one of the carrier wheels and a portion ofclearly the operative mechanism of the maizhine. Fig. 3 is a sideelevation of the hoe operative mechanism, showing the hoe at-' tachedthereto. Fig. 4- is a view in elevation of the line operativemechanismtaken from the side OftllQ machine, and Fig. 5 is an enlarged view,showingmy referred form of attachment for securing t e hoe to itssupporting arm.

Referring now more particularly tothe the device resides in drawings,wherein like numerals of reference designate similar parts in each ofthe figures, the numerals 1 and 2 refer, respectively, to the carrierwheels of the device,

which-support the axle 3 with which they rotate, while the machine ismoving forv ward. The axle 3 supportsthe rear end of the frame work 4and is rotatable in suitable bearings 5 depending from said frame work.This framework is composed offsuitable side and end members and isconstructed of steel or some othersimi'lar durable material and:

extends forwardly from'the axle 3. and is de signedto support theoperative mechanism of the machine. v

Rotatably mounted in suitable bearings ries the rigidly mounted sprocketwheel7 and near the. center of which is carried the rigidly mountedbevel gear 8. Loosely mounted on the axle-3 and alined with the sprocketwheel 7 is thesprocket wheel 9 and the sprocket wheels 7 and 9 areoperatively connected by the sprocket chain 10. The sprocket wheel 9 isextended in-' huh wardly, forming a clutch member 11 and rig dly mountedon the axle 3 1s a similar clutch member 12, these clutch. members are.

normally held in engagementby means of a strong coil spring 13interposed between the inner end of thehub ofcarrier wheel '1 and theouter-end of the hub of sprocket wheel 9 and surrounding the axle 3, butthe said clutch is arranged, to .bedisenga ed in a manner hereinafter tov be descri ed and when so disengaged: thesprocket wheel 9 near thefront end of the frame work 45 1s a the transverse shaft 6, one end ofwhich carwill cease to rotate and the operative mechanism of the'machineremain idle.

The numeral 14 designates a U shaped frame, the'open end of which lookstoward the front of the machine and carries suitable bearings 15in whichthe shaft 6 rotates and the rear end of this frame issupported bysuitable rollers 16 which are carried upon the lower end of a shank 17,the said shank .being secured in a bearing member 18, carried by therear end of the frame 14, in which said shank is vertically adjustable.

The frame work 4 carries an inverted U shaped cross-bar 19, near thefront end thereof, which extends transversely of the frame work and issecured to each side thereof andyintegral with the central portionofsaid cross-bar and projecting rearwardly -therefrom is a support 20 towhich a send andvthe lower end of this coil spring is secured to a crossbar 22 extending transfie strong coil spring 21 is attached at its upperversely. of the frame 14 and immediately underneath the support 20, andthis coil spring serves the'purpose of suspending the frame 14 from thesupport "and makes said frame and the appendants thereof easily elevatedbythe'operator and also serves to Extending lengthwise of the frame 14and rotatably=mounted in suitable bearings '23 and :24 carried bythe-rear end thereof and the j cross-bar- 22, respectii'ely is' theshaft 25. 'Rigidly mounted on the front endoffthis sliaft'is. the bevelgear 26 which meshes with the bevel gear 8 and rigidly mounted on therear end of the shaft is'the spur gear 27. The spur gear 27meshes with'a similar spur gear 28,'locate'd therebeneath androtatably mounted on a;spindle 29iex- "tending. rearwardly from the spindle sup-- L" of theframe 14.-

port- '30 which depends from the rear end g Extending. rearwardly from Ithe gear" wheels 27 and 28 are "the pins=3l and located in correspondingpositions on said '30 gear 'wheels'provided to' support the arm Theupper endof this arm carries a bearing member 3 4, through which the pin31 extends and-the pin 32 projectsthrough; "an oblong slot 35' in thearm 33', and the permit a "considerable forward and rearpins 31' a'nd-32-, are of sufficient length to ward movement'of'the arm 33 thereonfor lower end of i the arm; 33 is enlarged into -a fromthe center Thenumeral 38-refers to ia hoe, or cutter secured to the-'lower end ofshank 39. The

upper end of'this shank. carries a clutch member '40 w'hichis providedwith. a cen;; tralopeningthrough which the-shaft 37 eX- 1 ten'd's and'themember 40 is heldsecured, 1 on said sha'ft -37 by-meansof a nutfl4l,the

contacting sides ofthe clutch membersfl36 and 40' beingprovided withengaging teeth, as shown in Fig. 4', which are held in engagementbymeans of the nut 41. and the {hoe 38 is thus held. rigid with respect to{the-arm '33, but when it is .desiredito Vary the angle between 'shank39 and armQY-BB the nut 41 may be loosened and the cluteh member 40-turnedto. the ldesired position.

on its supporting shaffl'37 and said nut.

v again; tightened until; the elutehi member's are again engagedseoiiifelyitogetmn ji Th fro'nt side of the hoe.38 -"is provided with anauxiliary cutter 42, projecting forwardly therefrom and having avertically. extend ing cuttin'g'edgeand 1 sides'which-slope each Ibetween the nut 41. andclutch, member 40 'I haveinterpOsed a.planefwedge shaped washer 44 of similar dimensions to the washer 43,but soar-ranged that the thin side thereof will correspond, in position,relativeto theclutch members 36a1 d 40, to the thick side ofiwedge,,43.. \Vhen it is desired t01varyuthe angle of the cutting edgeof hoe 38 relative to, the surface to be cut away the nut 41 may beloosened and the washers 43, and '44 given airequal turn'on the shaft 37and, the anglev of the cutting edge of the hoe 38 thus varied at will.-The opening through the clutch member 40 should be considerably largerthan the Shaft 37, as shown in .dotted lines in Fig. 5, in order toallow a certain amount of. play for said clutch member relative to saidshaft.

i ..Rotatabl,y mounted in suitable bearings .axle 3. isiI-thesquareshaft 47." One end of 1 this shaft carries the hand lever '48which is. rigid therewith and by means of which it purpose to'be'.hereinafter set forth." The the same 'may be rotated. This hand lever Iis provided. with I the usu all rack-and-dog clutch-member 36 andextending laterally. of this clutch member is the 14 and ,the appendantscarried thereby.

.Near each end of the shaft 47 but within the framew0rk4 are the pedals52' and 53, rigidly' secured tosaid shaft, the former ex- Ttendingforwardly and the lattenxtendfling rearwardly. By a depressionof pedal52 the shaft 47 is rotated, the front ends of levers 5 0 and-5 1depressed'and the frame l-l lowered and bya depressionof pedal 53 the?frame 14 is, in asimilar manner elerated, The position of the frame 14and the hoeoperat-ing mechanism-carried theremay be readily controlledbyeither the feetor the hands 'of,the operator, and said frame may besecured at any desired pointof elevation by the rack-and-dog arrangement 49. Adjacent to the inner end of the member 11 is declutche'd fromthe clutch member 12 and throws the operative mecha-' nism of themachine out of gear. .To the front end of the frame work 4 I havesecured the tongue 55, which supports the Whittle trees to which theteam may 'be hitched in the usual manner, a

This machine is specially designed to be 7 used in chopping cotton andother similar growing plants, which are planted in rows. ,In thecultivation of said plants it becomes necessary to remove so'meof theplants of the row, 'when standing too thick, and to leave the remainderof said plants standing in hills, and this object may be readilyaccomplished by the use of a machine of the character described thecutting hoe of which operates at regular intervals and at right anglesto the rowover which the machine is passing, and performs a stroke verysimilar to the movement ofa hoe, when used by a manin digging, and theshaft :25 is provided with a heavy fly wheel 56, rigidly mounted thereonnear the front end thereof, which imparts a considerable amount ofmomentum to-said hoeand renders the strokes thereof more uniform.

Loosely mounted on the shaft 47 is a hand lever 57, which extendsupwardly therefrom so as to be within easy reach of the operator. Thelower end of this lever extends some distance below the shaft l7, and isconnected to the arm 33 by means of a link 58, which is connected toboth said lever and said arm by means of universal joints, so as topermit the free oscillation of said arm. By the manipulation of saidlever 57 the arm 33 may be moved back and forth on the pins 31 and 32and the )osition of the hoe 38 may thus easily be shi ted toward thefronit or rear, in orderto avoid obstruction or to be made to miss anyplant in the row wl z ich the operator may not desire tohave cu a Forthe purpose of" cleaning the hoe from any earth that may adhere theretol have provided the scraper 59, which is secured to the frame ll andwhich projects outtoward the hoc and whose free end is enlarged andconforms in shape to the face of the hoe. This scraper prO ccts out fromthe frame a sufficient distance'to' come in contact with the hoe just-atthe time it has finished its" stroke and is moving upward to begin a newstroke and scrapes off the earth and leaves the hoe clean.

What I claim is 1 1. A device of the character describe composed ofsuitable carrier wheels rigidly mounted upon a rotatable axle, a framework supported by said axle, a frame hingedly secured to the frame workand carrying a hoe-operative mechanism, an oscillating leverpivotallysecured to said mechanism and a hoe carried thereby, a

driving means operatively connected with said carrier wheels and alsohaving operative connection with said hoe-operative mechanism, means fordisccnnecting sa'id first mentioned means from said carrier wheels, andmeans for adjusting said os'cil-- anism. v i

2. A device of thecharacter described including suitable carrier wheelsrigidly mounted upon an axle and a frame work supported by aid axle, asupporting frame hingedly secured to said frame work near the front endthereof, a mechanism carried by the rear end of said frame work andconnected to the rear end of said frame, whereby said frame may beelevated and lowered, a hoe-operative mechanism carried by said frameand having operative 6011' nection with one of said carrier wheels, ameans for disconnecting said connect-ion, an oscillating arm pivoted tosaid hoe-operative mechanism and operated thereby, a hoe secured to saidoscillating arm, and means for manually adjusting said oscillating armand the hoe carried thereby relative to the hoe-operative mechanism.

3. A device of the character described including a rotatable axle andcarrier wheels rigidly secured thereto, a frame work sup ported by saidaxle, a supporting frame hingedly secured to said frame work near thefront end thereof and ameans carried by the frame work; and havingconnection with the frame whereby the rear end there of may be elevatedand'lowered relative to the frame work, a resilient member secured tothe frame work and also to the frame and operating to' suspend saidframe from the frame wort, a hoe-operativemechanism carried by saidframe and having operative connection with one of said carrierwheels, ameans for disconnectingsaid connection, an oscillating arm pivoted tosaid hoe-operative mechanism and operated thereby, a

hoe secured to said oscillating arm, and

means for adjusting said oscillating arm,

and the hoe carried thereby relative to the hoe-operative mechanismeithenwhile sta tionary or inmotion.

-.t. In a device of the character described a train of spur gears and,anoscillating arm pivot-ally secured to one of said gears and slidablysecured to the other, a hoe secured to said oscillating arm and meanswherehv the and ffame and suspending the latter from the fopmer, a meanscarried by the frame work andhaving'conne'ction with the frame wherebythe frame may be elevated and lowered relative to the framework andsecured in a fixed position with relation thereto, a hoe operativemechanism carried by said frame and. having operative connectiondisconnecting said connection, an oscillating arm pivoted to saidhoe-operative mech anism andoperated thereby, a hoe secured to saidoscillating arin,nieans securing said hoe to said arm whereby theposition ofthe hoe may be varied relativeto the arm, and means formanually adjusting said oscillating arm, and the hoe carried therebyrelative to-the hoe-operative mechanism.

6. A device, of the character described composed of suitable carrierwheels rigidly mounted on a rotatable axle, aframe work supported-bysaidaxle, a frame hingedly secured to the frame work,andf carrying a hoeoperative mechanism andkaj fiy ,wheel v connected therewith and designedto steady the operation thereof, an oscillating arm pivotally secured-tosaid mechanism and a bee carriedthereby, a driving means operatii'ielyconnected with, one,of said carrier wheels and also having operativeconnection with said hoe operativemechanism, means for disconnectingsaid driving means from said carrier wheel and a mechanism operativelyconnected to said oscillating arm for changing the position of-said armand the hoe carried thereby at any time relative to the hoe operativemechanism.

7'. A device ofthe character described composed of; suitable carrierwheels rigidly cx niountedaipon 'a rotatable axle, a frame worksupported by said axle, a frame hingedly secured to the framework, ahoeoperative mechanism carried by said frame, an oscillating armpivotallysecured to'said vmechanism'and operated thereby and a hoesecured to said arm, .a ;means -operatively connected with one of saidcarr er-wheels and also having operative connection with saidhoe-operative mechanism and ;operat-.

ing the same, means for disconnecting said first mentioned means fromsaid carrier.

wheels, ineansfconnecting said hoe to said arinwhere'by the position ofthe hoe relativeto thelarnfniay be changed and means operativelyconnected with said arm whereby the arm and the hoe carried thereby maypfi lipn of the hoe maybe-varied rela tive tosaid'a riiry ings' carriedby said frame work and alengthwise shaft rotatably mounted in suitablebearings insaid frame, means operativelyconnecting one of said carrierwheels with said transverse shaft and means for disconnecting saidconnection, means operatively connecting said transverse and said I J Jlengthwise shafts, a hoe-operative mechawith one of said carrier wheels,a means for nism carried by said frame andopc 'at'vely connected withsaid lengthwise shaf an oscillating arm pivotally secured to saidhoe-operative mechanism and operated thereby, a hoe adjustably securedto said arm, a means secured to said oscillating arm whereby said armand the hoe carried thereby may be shifted at any time relative to saidhoe operative"mechanism, a means secured to said frame whereby it may beelevated and lowered relative to-the frame work and fixedrelative'thereto, at any desired point of elevation, and a resilientmember secured tosaid frame work and frame whereby thelatteris'suspended from the former. g

9. A device of the character described in c luding a frame workpivotally mounted upon a rotatable axle and carrier wheelsrigidly'secured to said axle,-a supporting frame hingedly'securedto saidframe work,

a transverse shaft rotatable in suitable bearings carried by said framework and a leigthwise shaft rotatably mounted in suitaole bear ngs insaid fra1'iie,'a"fly wheel selengthwise shafts, a hoe-operativemechanism carried by said frame and operatively connected with saidlengthwise shaft, an oscillating arm pivot-ally secured to said hoeoperative mechanism and operated thereby, a hoe adjustably secured tosaid arm, a means secured to said oscillating arm whereby said arm andthe hoe carried thereby may be readily shifted at any time toward andfromsaid hoe operative mechanism, a means secured to said frame Wherebyit maybe elevated and'lowered'relative to the frame work andffixed atany desired point ofelevation relative thereto, a'resilieiit mmembersecured to said framework and frame whereby'the lat-fer is suspendedfrom the former, and supporting rollers carried by the frame anddepending therefrom.

hoe carried thereby, a means operatively 10.-A device of the characterdescribed composed of suitable carrier wheels rigidly mounted on arotatable axle, a frame work supported b said axle, a framehingedly.secured to -te'frame work and carrying a hoe operative mechanism, anoscillating arm pivotally secured to said mechanism and a connected withone of said carrier wheels and also having operative connection withsaid hoe operative mechanism, means for disconnecting said fi'rstmentioned means from said carrier wheel, a mechanism operativelyconnected to said oscillating arm for changing the position of saidarmand the hoe carried thereby relative to the hoe V operativemechanism, and a scra er secured to the frame and extendin'gtoward thehoe and arranged to contact therewith during the'upward stroke of saidhoe.

11. Ina device of the character described to one of said gears andhaving a slidable engagement with the other of said gears and y a hoesecured to'the' free end of said arm.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification inthevpresence of two subscribing witnesses.

GEORGE P. A. 'WEISENBORN.

Witnesses:

J W. YmcLEY, ANNIE ToMPKms,

